Just Different

Chapter 25

"We got her Robbie!" Chester squealed as he looked up at Rob from his laptop.

Rob looked up from his phone, surprised. "What?"

"I'm hearing from people that Elisa stormed off on Brad earlier. She refuses to talk to him. We have her convinced." Chester's eyes glowed happily as they danced across the screen, multiple 'pings' coming from it. Rob put his phone down on the table and stared at Chester across from him, mouth gaping open.

"Sam is telling me she's with Anna and Talinda right now. Talinda texted Linsey about everything and Heidi got ahold of her phone. With that, Sam knows everything now." Chester squealed again taking Rob's hands in his and squeezing them.

"So she might break up with Brad?" Rob asked hopefully. Chester nodded, grinning.

"You're almost there Rob." Another message popped up on Chester's laptop and he glanced towards it. "Amir just said Ben talked to Brad. He might call you and the rest of the dream team for some support. You want me to drive you? Go with you to see what happens?"

"Only if they don't see you," Rob said, smiling widely. Chester nodded, smirking.

"Of course they won't." He kissed Rob's hand. "Just keep doing what you're doing and Brad will be yours."

Rob nodded happily. His heart was leaping with joy, his stomach filling with butterflies.

***

"Please, Elisa don't--" Elisa hung up again. Brad sighed angrily. She wasn't wanting to hear his explanations. How could she believe such rumors?

Brad gave up on calling her and he leaned against the wall of the cabin. He sighed and unbuttoned the dress shirt he had on. It was becoming uncomfortable and the humid air was making the fabric stick to his skin. Brad tugged at the wife beater he had on, hoping to cool off a bit. He checked his phone, hoping for a message from Elisa, but there was nothing. Biting his lip he unlocked his phone and opened up the group chat with his friends in it.

He typed in a quick message, hoping the guys would receive it and come to the cabin like he wanted them to. It was getting pretty dark out too. Hopefully they could still make it...

Mike was the first to arrive, stepping into the back room and sitting by Brad. He stayed quiet, much like he had been the whole week, but Brad didn't push him to talk. Then Joe showed up, overly concerned and hurt at how Elisa acted. Then Rob came.

Brad was extremely relieved to see his friend, the feelings from earlier that day returning. He gulped. Maybe the rumors about him liking one of his friends was true. He didn't want it to be true. But yet, here Brad was, sitting against the wall looking up at Rob, tears pricking his eyes.

"She won't believe anything else," was what Brad began with. "She's convinced I'm cheating on here with one of you guys."

Mike and Rob exchanged quick looks. Brad sniffled. "Everyone...everyone knew."

"We wanted to tell you," Joe began. "But they're stupid rumors. We didn't want--"

"If I had known, I could've tried fixing things with Elisa sooner!"

Rob knelt down next to Brad and put his arm around him. "Hey, it's okay. All we wanted was for you to be free from any stress."

"I know but--" Brad tried but Rob continued.

"Just...If she doesn't wanna believe you, her own boyfriend, then maybe she isn't all that good for you."

Mike muttered in agreement and Joe nodded. Rob continued.

"She's ignoring you and taking sides with the people who are also believing these rumors. Let her be."

"You have a point," Brad sighed. It was quiet between the boys. Crickets chirped loudly outside, leaves rustled quietly. Brad's heart ached. He liked Elisa, but he knew deep down he didn't love her like he thought he did. And he also knew deep down that there was someone else.

No. He can't. Brad would be a hypocrite if such a thing were true. But Rob's arm around him brought the comfort he was seeking. And he leaned towards Rob, sighing.

"I'm still gonna talk to her though. I wanna make sure we'll be on good terms." Rob nodded. Brad sighed again fiddling with his discarded shirt. He needed to do a lot of thinking.

***

"I told you this would work," Chester said quietly, grinning. Rob shushed him.

"Mike's still in there," Rob whispered, grinning back. They ducked past the cabin window, circling around towards the back.

Chester had heard the entire conversation. He was glad Rob gained the confidence to tell Brad that Elisa wasn't good for him. He wanted to shout happily. There was only so much time left.

"I'll meet you back at the RV? I'm gonna stay and talk to Mike for a bit."

Chester nodded. "Don't take too long." They parted ways, Rob walking back into the cabin quietly. He wasn't sure if Mike noticed that he walked out for a moment, since he was still sitting in his spot on the floor in the back room.

Mike's eyes were glazed over and tired looking. He looked just as miserable as Chester had been just the other day. Rob walked cautiously into the room. "Mike?"

Mike looked up at Rob. "Yeah?" His voice was monotonous and quiet. Rob bit the inside of his cheek. He neared Mike, sitting on the floor next to him.

"How are you holding up?"

"What do you mean."

Rob sighed, "I know what happened. Between you and Chester."

Mike sighed, rubbing his brow. "I really don't wanna talk about this."

"You have to. You can't keep running from it Mike." Mike closed his eyes, pursing his quivering lips. Then an airy chuckle escaped him.

"I wish I could accept my feelings. I care too much about what other people think." Mike replied quietly. "If I do go along with this...and we become a thing, I don't want to know what other people will see or think."

Rob understood what Mike said, knowing almost exactly what he meant. Even Rob had the same fear at times. "You have to be strong Mike." Rob rubbed Mike's shoulder, patting it gently. "Don't focus on that. Just try to focus on knowing your feelings, see if they're real." Mike nodded slowly, taking in Rob's words. Rob pulled Mike into a hug and Mike held his breath. He shuddered against Rob slightly, hesitantly wrapping his arms around the younger teen.

"Thanks." Mike sniffled. His feelings for Chester were real; They were genuine and he knew there was no way he could keep running away from it. He was just scared to act upon his feelings. Everytime he did though, it always left him feeling lost or confused.

***

Chester trudged through the piles of trash, a smirk planted on his lips. He hummed happily as he unlocked the RV. He sighed contently, walking towards the small fridge to grab a drink.

Chester went into the back room, flipping the Hi-Fi on. He sat on the edge of the bed, cracking open the can of beer he held. Then his phone began to ring. Chester frowned and took his phone out of his pocket. It was Dave calling him. Chester tossed his phone onto the bed and get it ring. He took a sip from the can. He couldn't be bothered to answer the call. Chester was tired of Dave pestering him.